Power Run

Posted on July 16, 2011 by Coco

Yesterday afternoon a friend and fellow partner at work asked me if I wanted to meet her for a run this morning. I immediately said “yes” and was so excited. I usually run on my own, but having a running partner opens up new routes that I don’t feel comfortable taking by myself. Not to mention that I really like this person and looked forward to having time to catch up without worrying about the pressures of work that usually cut our conversations short.

We agreed to meet at our office at 6:30 am. I took a few pictures before stashing my iPhone in my office (Nathan waistbelt design fail–it is so frustrating that the pocket is just a smidge too small to fit my iPhone!).

View of Rosslyn, Virginia and the Key Bridge

View of the Kennedy Center

Look! The moon was still out!

The plan was to run along the Potomac River to the Lincoln Memorial and then run along the Mall up to the Capitol.

Despite being a native, I have never run this route, so I let her lead the way. Even though we were chatting, we started off fast–I saw 8:30 on my Garmin! I told her that I needed to slow down, and we ran comfortably hard (there’s that oxymoron again!) while talking about our families, vacation plans, and a wee smidge of work gossip.

She knew this route was about 7 miles as an out-and-back, and we were trying to do about 8 miles, so on the way back we headed over to the Tidal Basin and ran part-way around that to the FDR Memorial before cutting back over to the river and heading back to our office. 

We’re definitely going to do this again. Our male colleagues can have the golf course–we’ve got our power run!

Garmin Data
Total Distance: 8.1 miles
Total Time: 1:14
Avg Pace: 9:10 min/mile
Split Times: 9:25, 9:29, 8:56, 9:04, 9:15, 9:10, 8:58, 9:04

Do you run with a friend or running group?

Was it hard to find someone with a matched pace?

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13 Responses to Power Run

  1. Kris M Beal says:
    July 16, 2011 at 6:51 am

    WOW! I can't believe you've never run that route before! It would seem to me that it would be a regular…. SO jealous! Jealous cuz I still can't wog for more than 3 minutes. Jealous you have a buddy. Jealous you got to take in that BEAUTIFUL route! Ok – but really, really happy for you!

    • Coco says:
      July 16, 2011 at 7:07 am

      I'm just a creature of habit and like my shady bike path route. But this was fun! Also, I'm not sure I would want to do it alone. There's were many other runners out, but also many other people that I might have been uncomfortable encountering on my own.

  2. FITAPPY Fitness says:
    July 16, 2011 at 8:16 am

    Beautiful photos 🙂

  3. David H. says:
    July 17, 2011 at 4:08 am

    Very nice run. Running with others can be very rewarding, but it can also offer a nice break and slow you down. It all depends on who you're running with.

  4. Sheri @ TheMotivationalGirl says:
    July 17, 2011 at 9:10 am

    What a terrific run and look at your times! Very impressive!

    I wish I could run with someone, but I can’t talk and run nor do I feel that confident.

  5. Heather @ Not a DIY says:
    July 17, 2011 at 9:51 am

    Oh, this sounds like FUN! That's one goal for me: finding a running partner!

  6. lisa bishop says:
    July 17, 2011 at 10:08 am

    Nice senerie. Looked like run.

  7. FindingMyHappyPace says:
    July 17, 2011 at 1:31 pm

    I've only run with others a few times. it's interesting going with someone faster or slower, it's interesting to see how good of a runner you are to either keep up or slow down. I know I failed at slowing down yesterday, but, hey, i tried!
    glad you found a fun running buddy, strength in numbers!

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